Memorial Industrial CDC

Mission Our mission. Improve the quality of life for Forsyth County residents by addressing social determinants of health and the impact on poverty including food, educational and community needs. To preserve local African American history and legacy . Support agricultural research, education, and reclamation of farmland and other natural resources in Forsyth County Encourage access to community-defined programs to establish sustainable food and farm programs for residents impacted by the food desert in Forsyth County and rural communities. Serve all who live and/or work in Forsyth County, emphasizing support for low- to moderate-income residents and businesses. Brief history Our program is located at the site of the former historical Memorial Industrial School facility in Germanton to serve neglected black children beginning in 1928. It closed in 1972. After many iterations of possibilities for suitable reuse of the facility, former residents of the orphanage formed the Memorial Industrial CDC nonprofit organization to repurpose the use of this facility which included housing for seniors, foster families, shelter for battered women and girls. The CDC and the community wanted to bring back the healing and substance that this place once enjoyed and to see that the needs of the less fortunate were not written off. This was once a prominent school and farm with 160 acres of land under cultivation supervised by agricultural staff and worked performed by resident children. In 1955 it produced more than 7,000 quarts of food making it one of the finest farms in Forsyth County

African American Historic Preservation

Urban farming and community gardening

Parental engagement and education